Hartal culture

Hartal is not a good weapon to dislodge the Government, rather this practice only creates panic among the peace loving people and ruin the economy. Unless our politicians realise this fact, I don't see any hope for our country .

Hartal is the most ominous thing that a nation can have in its life. Although it is unfortunate but the truth is that most of our political leaders "love" hartals blindly, which puts a question mark on their love for the country.

Hartals are always a great barrier on the way to development. There can never be any convincing arguments in favour of calling a hartal . If a political party really cares for the country it can never call a hartal. Our major two political parties, the Awami League and the BNP, always consider hartal as their only weapon. They do not even think about the ill consequences of a hartal.

We always find the opposition complaining about the ruling party and eventually it quits the parliament. As a result, the house remains empty, whereas it is the most important platform for the opposition to make its presence felt.

It's a sad truth that although our former prime minister Sheikh Hasina had declared several times that she would never call a hartal , she has not kept her promise.

Hartal is like a dreadful disease which is breaking the backbone of our nation. So it's now time to unite and remove this malignant growth.. We must say in a chorus, " Good bye to hartal, welcome development and peace."

Md. Ashiqul Haque, West Hajipara Road, Dhaka

I am writing this letter to express my utter disgust and opposition to hartal. Hartal, as has been written by many in this column, is an extreme form of protest which, in present day world, is non-existent anywhere except in Bangladesh. It not only disturbs normal lives of the people, but also curtails the freedom of the peace loving people. It brings destruction in its trail and causes untold miseries to the ordinary citizens of the country, particularly those living in the cities. And, of course, congratulatory notes are issued by both the government and the opposition for boycotting as well as observing a hartal!

It is known that except for the organisers nobody likes to observe hartal. The organisers sometimes even force the people to observe it. But it is an irony that the political leadership doesn't try to understand that the effectiveness of hartal is almost at the sub-zero level now. It only reflects the political bankruptcy of the politicians who call it.

The AL, it seems, has not learnt anything from the past. I am not sure whether it has evaluated the outcome of the innumerable hartals that it had called before the 1996 elections. I am not a political pundit, but it seems that without the infamous February 1996 election, the AL might not have won people's sympathy . People praised Sheikh Hasina for her clarion call as the prime minister to put an end to this undemocratic form of protest. She had promised to the nation on innumerable occasions that the AL would never call hartal , regardless of its position. But what is going on now?

It may be true that the present government will go down in history as an inept one which has failed to run the country smoothly. It is sad to note that every time the BNP government makes a blunder, the AL, in particular the former PM, does something to immediately nullify that. This cannot be politics.

The greatest mistake that the AL is committing is boycotting parliament. What a childish attitude! I will keep my seat, but not attend parliament. As a voter, I have the right to ask the MP from my constituency to attend the parliament and speak about the problems of my area, and to voice his opposition to the wrongdoings of the government. I am not ready to accept that the Speaker does not allow them to speak. It is true that as a majority party the BNP is showing its clout.

The bottom line is that the AL (or for that matter any other party) has no right to keep away from parliament.

An AL sympathiser, Texas, USA